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Rideandfly...Bill, we did see you at the top of the hill. Have been out out touch in remote corners of Miss., Alabama, and Georgia. Have not taken pictures, too busy dodging rain drops. A great place to camp was Mt. Cheaha State Park in Alabama, even if the 30 mile goat path was mostly up and up. Some of the turns were so tight that we think we caught glimps of us ahead. The Oliver was a dream to tow, and the backup cam was. Essential in a couple of places where we all of a sudden ran out of road...

It's campfire season again. Over the years, I have wrecked several pairs of expensive lenses over a hot grill in my restaurant, and cooking over hot campfires. My optician confirmed several years ago that the lenses can warp and crackle over high heat. I've taken to wearing old glasses, or inexpensive single vision, normal lenses when working over a very hot fire. Just an FYI. I love my photosensitive, auto changing lenses, most of the time. Sherry.

Well we are at Oliver picking up our new baby and I promised to post some pictures of the new bike rack design. It looks great snd very sturdy but we havent gotten to test it yet. There is some problem with the satellite and they have been working on it since noon Thursday. Oliver put us up inna hotel last night. I hope we get to stay in our camper tonight. Glad we booked extra day at Fall Hallow.

That overflow hose is just forward of the sink cabinet. If you could reach it and extend it up under the sink with a vented loop, as high as you could, under the sink, and then back down to the outside it would make a big difference. Maybe it can be reached through the outside louver behind the refrigerator. Plugging it is a bad idea because sooner or later you'll forget the plug and pressurize the tank. Also, if it had a spring check valve at the outlet no dirt or bugs could ever go back up the pipe to the tank and the vented loop would let in air to allow the tank to drain. The vented loop is simple sailboat hardware. Adding a vacuum breaker to the loop would make sure no water ever burped out of the loop. I haven't noticed any loss of water, but I guess it might be worth a test. Fill the tank completely, go on a rough road, and before using any water, re-fill the tank to see what was lost. That vent system shown in the picture looks like it would allow some loss.

Metal stems are rated for higher pressure and they won't deteriorate as much in the sun. Later, they can take a flying rock hit better than rubber ones while off road. But to say that the TPMS would be better on metal stems if you hit a curb (as Hardrock mentioned, seems like a stretch. As far as dissimilar metals is concerned, I doubt that is a real problem. But since the metal stems seal with an O ring against an aluminum wheel, it wouldn't hurt to put something on the sealing surface. Silicone or silicone grease, or a dab of teflon paste would be fine. Not so sure about anti-seize as it's designed for a different problem (it prevents rust and galling on bolt threads, and some galvanic corrosion if it's the right formula), and there are different formulas for different applications. Anything to keep water away from the two metals and the sealing surface will help if it is a real problem. But really, I've used metal stems for a long time and never thought about this "issue" before and I've never had any problems with them. I don't think it's an issue. You also have dissimilar metals where the wheel touches the iron hub and where the lug nuts tighten into tapered holes in the wheel. Never a problem there. You also have a steel and chrome plated center hub cover that is in contact with the aluminum wheel all the time and exposed to moisture. Never a problem there either.

YES, that is correct. See Buzzy's post regarding the AGM's. Bill

John, here's a picture of the vent. You can see that it makes a simple bend and exits in front of the wheel well. I don't know what sort of screening is on it. Until Reed mentioned it, I hadn't thought about losing water, but as part of my effort to make the lower hull more water tight, I had planned to make some sort of cap for the vent to prevent possible contamination in the case of a water crossing, and/or perhaps moving it to a higher location on the side wall. You could also potentially lengthen the hose to give it a deeper bend.

Since it is time to de-winterize my LE2, I went online searching for the best way to repair any roof seals that I would find in need of repair. Here is a link to a Camping World page that has several videos that may help anyone who has questions on repairing the seals on a fiberglass roof using Dicor products. http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/dicor-self-leveling-lap-sealant-white/32125

I have to admit that I've become one of those people who don't like campfires. Not that I don't like the idea of them, but over the years, the romance of the campfire has become outweighed by the smoke and hassle. The gas fire pans are an obvious alternative, and more often these days your only choice, but they're also gas hogs. So I'm interested in these "smokeless" fireplaces like the Breeo and Solo Stove. They use a secondary burn that supposedly eliminates most of the smoke and makes the fire burn hotter and more evenly. They're supposed to light much more easily as well. The claims seem legit, based on the reviews, but I'm wondering if anyone here has one and can share their opinion on them.

The floor in the fridge area is solid front to back, there is no access to below area. So I would not recommend dismantling how well sealed that area is for proper fridge heat venting and isolation. You can cut an access hole in the bottom of the kitchen drawer area all the way to the left about 6" back. This is actually a good idea as that is where everything under there passes by water, heat, propane, electrical, etc.

Dave, from what I read, eez also "recommends" metal stems. I don't know what came on your trailer, but if you are dismounting the wheels anyway, now's the time to can get to metal. But, that means busting the tire, and another charge, likely. My tire guys charge the same for metal or not, with new tires. Not likely the same if you are just rebalancing. Best off to contact the manufacturer of your tpms to see if you need new stems, or not. Sherry

Very good question. I've seen the effect of altitude change on water bottles, sealed bags, etc... Wouldn't want to impact the freshwater tank. We have the forespar duckbill valves installed on our waste tanks on our boat. So far, so good. (;A friend helped install a valve awhile back, and dropped just the duckbill, which rolled into a space never to be found. Forespar was very helpful in replacing just that bit.) Customer service guys at forespar are excellent. Maybe give them a call? They might give you some ideas. They're in California, so take the time zone into consideration.... I'm good with what we have, since we carry two to five five gallon containers with us in the truck bed, but I can certainly appreciate the water range anxiety. Sometimes, replenishment isn't easy. Been there, done that, hence, water carriers in the truck bed. Sherry

Pizza looks awesome. Wish we were there, too! Which battery configuration did you choose? I see you are using the Honda 2000. We carry a 1000 as a backup to solar, but not a huge difference in weight or fuel consumption between the two. I can lift and carry either with one hand. We've thought about upgrading, but the 1000 has done well for nine years, so we've stuck with the original choice. Sherry PS one of these days, don't be surprised if another Oliver joins you for amazing pizza... Your photos are just too tempting. Lol. Hope to meet you both one of these days... Til then, happy travels. S

Just to be clear, you are only speaking about the T-105 batteries that are "flooded" and not AGM, correct?

The vent is there to keep it from getting pressurized also, I wouldn't plug it ever. It works fine and putting more water in is simple. I was surprised to see it myself but still we didn't need to fill up until yesterday after we showered. I made 2 trips to the water pipe with our 8 gallon tote and it was 100% full. These are nasty mountain roads and we even blocked the drawers closed to keep everything in place before we started out. If you think that you're going to need more water, then just take it with you in 15 gallon drums... I'd rather have water loss then ruptured tanks and we had about 8000 feet of elevation changes. It was full when we started and on that road 20% is a number that I can live with. It won't happen every day. That's the most that we have lost. Don't sweat the small stuff :)

John Davies: Don't know if you have adequate access to space, but if the problem is siphoning, one possible solution is installation of a siphon break. Would need to be installed at the high point of the loop of hose and above the height of the open-to-air vent. Forespar vented loop part # 903008 (1/2") or 903003 (5/8"). Available from Defender marine supply, info@defender.com, 800-628-8225. Please let us all know how you solve the problem. SailorsAshore

The top photo is everything in place, the second photo is everything that I store in there, plus the hose end caps you can't see, there's still some room too. If you look you'll see the elbow. That the hose connected and that 90° elbow stay connected, this way I have more flexibility if the valve leaked beforehand. I think the always attached hose is 15 feet and the other is their 10 foot extension, so 25 feet total. You can also see the end flares which allow all the connectors to move in and out of the storage area. Edit - don't know what happened to the first photo when I clicked submit, oh well.